The Chimneys

The house is named for the stone chimneys bracketing its ends. A Scottish merchant named John Glassell is usually credited as the builder, though researchers at the University of Mary Washington suggest the house was built by Charles Yates prior to Glassell's purchase around 1771–1773. Glassell came from Galloway in the 1770s. During the Revolution, he was a loyalist. He went to Scotland in 1775 and never returned. Ownership passed to William Glassell, to whom John had given power of attorney; an 1792 insurance policy lists William as owner.

The decorative carving matters—mantelpiece, door frames, window frames—characteristic of Georgian millwork and paneling. The construction method tells the port city's story more directly. The two-story frame uses mortise and tenon joints secured with hardwood pegs. Each timber is marked with chiseled Roman numerals. The walls are nogged with brick between the studs. The hipped roof is supported by three heavy king post trusses, framed with techniques common in the construction of ships' hulls. Fredericksburg was a major colonial port in the mid- to late eighteenth century, and the roof framing reflects what shipwrights understood about structures that needed to hold.

The house changed hands repeatedly through the 1800s. Ellen Lewis Herndon Arthur—Nell, later wife of President Chester A. Arthur—lived here as a child. In 1966, the president of the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation purchased the house. In 1975 the Foundation moved its museum and offices into The Chimneys. William Vakos purchased it in 1982, secured approval from Fredericksburg's Architectural Review Board and Zoning Board, and converted it to a restaurant. The weatherboarding was repainted in the original colors. Porches were added front and rear, including a two-story porch at the front. A veranda overlooking an English garden went in. Plumbing, electrical systems, and heating were replaced. Restaurants have operated here since. The framing, the Roman-numeraled timbers, the carved woodwork remain.